M's bullpen falters

Orioles break open tight game with 4 runs in last 4 innings

By JOHN HICKEY, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, April 4, 2008

Photo: / Associated Press

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Baltimore Orioles' Ramon Hernandez, right, slides safely into home as Seattle Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima reaches for the throw during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, April 4, 2008 in Baltimore. Hernandez scored on a sarifice fly hit by Luis Hernandez. (AP Photo/Gail Burton) less

Baltimore Orioles' Ramon Hernandez, right, slides safely into home as Seattle Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima reaches for the throw during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, April 4, 2008 in Baltimore. ... more

The Mariners didn't dedicate Friday's game to the right-hander, who opted to leave the team rather than continue his rehabilitation work in the minor leagues.

But they could have, because there's a spot for Reitsma in the bullpen right now, if only he'd stuck it out.

The Mariners have completely redesigned their bullpen after closer J.J. Putz went on the disabled list. They are going with a closer-by-committee until Putz's return. That means everyone's role is changing in an attempt to find the best way to compensate for the loss of Putz, who has inflammation in his right side.

Reitsma, who was probably a week or 10 days away from being ready when the Mariners told him late last month he wasn't going to make the Opening Day roster, could have been the guy to fill the gap.

"It's pointless to speculate," manager John McLaren said of Reitsma in the wake of Seattle's 7-4 loss to Baltimore on Friday, a game in which the bullpen gave up four runs in the final four innings. "He's not here. We're still searching for answers here."

With Cha Seung Baek having given up two homers and three runs and with Roy Corcoran's wild pitch allowing a run charged to Ryan Rowland-Smith to come home, there was plenty of misfiring in the Seattle bullpen as the quest for answers continued.

Putz is out a minimum 15 days, and it could easily be much longer before he's himself again. That means the Mariners, who don't have a veteran closer around, are mixing and matching. It's likely Reitsma, who was once a closer in Atlanta, could have been part of it had he remained.

As it is, another pitcher serving out a minor league work furlough, lefty Arthur Rhodes, could be back before the Mariners come home next weekend. Rhodes got the same offer to stick around that Seattle gave Reitsma. Rhodes opted to stay.

"That's a possibility," McLaren said of Rhodes showing up either in Baltimore or having him join the team during a three-game series in Tampa Bay starting Tuesday. "We're looking at what we have here and we're looking at what we have down there."

Brandon Morrow, optioned to the minor leagues last weekend, is another possibility if he shows well at Double-A West Tenn. He has one shutout inning under his belt, and in another five days, he'll be eligible to be called up. Given the state of the Mariners' bullpen, it's hard to believe he won't be.

The Mariners didn't get the kind of showing they'd hoped from starter Jarrod Washburn on Friday. The lefty didn't have good command, but he had enough grit to have the Mariners tied at 2-2 in the fifth. With two out in that inning, Kevin Millar picked on a low changeup and muscled it 335 feet from home plate. The fence in the left-field corner is 333 feet away, and that's where Millar hit it, an ahead-to-stay homer.

An inning later, Baek gave up a solo homer to Ramon Hernandez, and in the seventh, Melvin Mora hit a two-run homer. The Orioles got a third run in the seventh after Baek left, and the Mariners didn't have enough muscle to come back.

What's increasingly clear is that Putz's importance to the Seattle bullpen can't be overstated. While he's gone, everyone has to be moved around to accommodate, and that's asking for trouble.

Baek is the long man, and he wouldn't have come in to a one-run game in the sixth if Putz were still healthy. As a former starter, keeping someone else's one-run game close isn't something he's practiced at.

Friday's sixth inning was one where middle reliever Sean Green probably would have been asked to take over if Putz was healthy. Green could have been roughed up, too, but then the Mariners at least would have been going with a pitcher throwing in the role he's ready for.

"We're looking at the guys who are here," McLaren said. "We have guys who are coming along good down (in the minors). Those are guys who will be here at some point.

"We've got to figure it all out."

What's easy to figure out, in retrospect, is that the Mariners need bullpen help. Rhodes and Morrow may be able to help soon.